Specifications:This is the lightest EF lens of all at a mere 4.6 oz. (130g). Compact and high-performance, standard lens. Its Gaussian optics provide sharp delineation from near to far focusing distances. The color balance is excellent for a standard lens.

This cheap lens holds its own - especially in walk-around, non-tripod situations.

Mar 27, 2007

Bjorn BeheydtOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Mar 22, 2007Location: BelgiumPosts: 0

Review Date: Mar 23, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

light, cheap, sharp, small, L quality images, all rounder

Cons:

plastic build

I bought this lens 3 years ago, and have been using it non-stop ever since. If I can take one lense anywhere, this is the one I take. It is light, small, versatile, and takes great pictures.
I used this lens on my 10D, and now on my 5D, results are always great.
I did some whole modelshoots with this lens only, and use it extensively as a macro with a tube inbetween body and lens.
I don't only recommend this lens, I think it is a must have lens!

Mar 23, 2007

alpha_1976OfflineBuy and Sell: On

Registered: Feb 28, 2007Location: United StatesPosts: 752

Review Date: Mar 15, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $70.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Sharp, Light weight and short

Cons:

Terrible build

I bought this lens a few weeks ago. It's reasonable sharp wide open but really shines above 2.8 or 3.5 to be very precise. It's really light; once you put it on your camera what you feel is only camera weight which might be awkward sometimes. With f1.8, I think this might be the chepest lens one would want to use inside museums and so on so forth to have reasonable IQ. The thing I don't like about this lens is the build quality of this lens. I mean, I have some you know so-called cheapo from Canon, but man, this is the worst of all. If you shake it a little you hear some rattling noise like something is already broken inside! But the price you pay for this lens is really a tiny fraction of what you'd pay on other lenses to get the same image quality; so can't complain.

This is one of my FAVORITE lens. I shoot this with my 1D mkll all the time. I get funny looks from other photog's, but I really don't care. This lens is sharp. Just as sharp as the 1.4. Will be using this guy for a long time.

Feb 18, 2007

purelthiumOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Feb 1, 2007Location: CanadaPosts: 0

Review Date: Feb 1, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $70.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Cheap, sharp, small, light.

Cons:

Slow focus

This lens is FANTASTIC. I did a sharpness test against my lenses at 50mm and f/5.6. This lens was the sharpest by far, I was amazed by its ability to show the detail on the $5 dollar bill that I used.

The test was compared against the Canon Kit lens and the EF 28-105mm f/4-5.6. These lenses are not great performers by any means, but they are around the same pricepoint.

That into account, this lens is the BEST value in Canon's lineup.

Feb 1, 2007

froggynaanOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jun 30, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 35

Review Date: Jan 21, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $90.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Don't worry about breaking: Just buy a new one!, sharp at all apertures (see text), good for reversing on the front of my macro lens

Cons:

slow autofocus, only F/1.8, 50mm is a bit long on a DSLR.

I like most aspects about this lens: the wide aperture for the low cost, the sharpness of the images, and the background blur. It's not a lens i can use all the time, since it's too long for most walk-around applications.

Sharpness: I was surprised to find that this lens sharpens up faster than the F/1.4. I tested the F/1.4: it gets extremely sharp at F/4 and begins to degrade around F/8. I also tested the F/1.8 in similar conditions: it reaches peak sharpness around F/2.2, and all other subsequent apertures are about as sharp (at least up to F/8). I cannot be totally sure, but I believe this lens does not get to be as sharp as the F/1.4 lens. This is probably because the 1.8 has a 5 element design, while the 1.4 has a 6 element design. Also, this lens has a 5 blade diaphragm while the 1.4 has 6 blades.

This lens is good for reversing and placing in front of a macro lens. I was able to get magnification of better than 2:1 using this in combination with my 1:1 macro lens.

The bokeh is very nice, especially compared to my sigma 105 macro lens. It's soft and flatter, as opposed to sharp and crunchy.

This is a GREAT beginners' lens. With its standard fixed focal length, the photographer is really challenged to get the shot. It taught me to get on my belly or get on top of that building.

It is very lightweight and compact. Almost plastic.

It's depth of field is great, and it works well in dim lighting conditions, but, if any darker, you're pushin' it. I shot a concert that had pretty crappy lighting with this, and my average shutter was around 1/30.

The depth of field, though, is very nice.

The AF is fairly slow and pretty loud. Loud enough to turn a few heads during English class.

I would definately recommend this lens to any beginner.

Jan 9, 2007

Andrew LinOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jan 3, 2007Location: United StatesPosts: 0

Review Date: Jan 3, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $84.00
| Rating: 8

Pros:

inexpensive, lightweight, short dof (for portraits)

Cons:

cheap build quality, slow & noisy af

This was my second lens after the EF-S 17-55mm that came with my XTi. I wanted a portrait lens with a short dof, a wide aperture, and something that was relatively inexpensive. A friend recommend this lens and when I saw the price, it wasn't even a question. The short dof makes shooting bokeh incredibly easy and the edges in focus come out incredibly sharp for such an inexpensive (dare I say "cheap") lens. I would certainly recommend this lens to anyone looking for a beginner's portrait lens. Next for me will more than likely be a 70-200mm F4L. Enough of the hard plastic, I want glass lol.

Jan 3, 2007

BombinoOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Mar 31, 2006Location: United StatesPosts: 18

Review Date: Jan 2, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $50.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Very sharp, great color, best bang-for-buck non-L glass out there, hands down. Cheapo.

First thing, everyone needs a good fast 50mm prime in their bag...whether it be a f/1.2, f/1.4, or f/1.8. Affordability will decide for you. At $100 CAN, this lens beats anything hands-down and for me price made me choose this lens.

The bokeh is extremely pleasing and this lens takes some great portrait pics! Outdoor portraits I've used this lens at f/2.5 and produced very crystal clear results that rival most zoom lenses. The colors are well saturated and bright.

I have found the "clunking" noise of the focus a bit weird but tolerable considering the cost of this unit. In extremely low light the AF does hunt a bit and I have to switch to manual focus. The manual focus ring is too small and a bit awkward to use but I manage fine.

If you are just starting out in photography and want a lens that will produce easy, breezy, beautiful results with low-light situations than this is a great first lens to play with.

I know some people recommend going with the MK I metal-mount version for an extra $100 or so...and I debated with that myself at length before buying this. The thing about the MK I is that even though it's better built, you will still have to buy it USED (which means no warranty really), there is still no USM, and the AF is a bit slower. Here's my thinking: if you can afford to spend a $100 more for what the older MKI is going for then just buy the better f/1.4 for $309US at B & H Photo.

First thing, everyone needs a good fast 50mm prime in their bag...whether it be a f/1.2, f/1.4, or f/1.8. Affordability will decide for you. At $100 CAN, this lens beats anything hands-down and for me price made me choose this lens.

The bokeh is extremely pleasing and this lens takes some great portrait pics! Outdoor portraits I've used this lens at f/2.5 and produced very crystal clear results that rival most zoom lenses. The colors are well saturated and bright.

I have found the "clunking" noise of the focus a bit weird but tolerable considering the cost of this unit. In extremely low light the AF does hunt a bit and I have to switch to manual focus. The manual focus ring is too small and a bit awkward to use but I manage fine.

If you are just starting out in photography and want a lens that will produce easy, breezy, beautiful results with low-light situations than this is a great first lens to play with.

I know some people recommend going with the MK I metal-mount version for an extra $100 or so...and I debated with that myself at length before buying this. The thing about the MK I is that even though it's better built, you will still have to buy it USED (which means no warranty really), there is still no USM, and the AF is a bit slower. Here's my thinking: if you can afford to spend a $100 more for what the older MKI is going for then just buy the better f/1.4 for $309US at B & H Photo.

All in all, the f/1.8 is a steal.

Dec 31, 2006

levinetOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Mar 25, 2005Location: AustraliaPosts: 9

Review Date: Dec 24, 2006

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Cost, sharp, wide aperture, perfect focal length on DSLR.

Cons:

Cheap plastic body, noisy & slow AF.

This lens is unbeleiveably sharp, at this price every Canon system owner should have this lens.

It's great in low-light (though AF will hunt a bit) and the results are always pleasing.

Stop it down to f4 and this lens really shines.

Mine broke from a minor fall, which does speak to it's cheap build quality... but, I'll surely get another one soon.